Do Not Want: Poison Berries and Other Inedibles
Sometimes it's amazing that the human race didn't die out long ago, what with all the dangerous plants and fruits out there. I suppose, though, that after you see enough of your cave clan die of asphyxiation after eating choke cherries or nightshade, you get wise and add these pretty-looking and otherwise enticing fruits and put them on your do not want list. WebEcoist collects 16 unassuming-but-lethal plants and fruits. In fact, the site says, one of these plants indirectly killed Abe Lincoln's mom. Yowsers!
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2 Comments:
Note that chokecherries are not actually poisonous. They taste disgusting raw, but my grandmother used to make a nice jam from the berries.
http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Edible_plants/Chokechery/Chokecherry.html
bialy at 11:45AM on 09/21/08
I've known people that make chokecherry syrup. Nobody died. :)
But yeah, I guess it probably only took a few unfortunate "guinea pigs" back in early times before the word spread that such-and-such berry (or mushroom or herb or whatever) was deathly. I'm not sure how long I'd survive though if I had to rely on nature to sustain me. (I'm thinking of being in a "Cast Away"-type situation.) Knowing my luck, I would pick the wrong berry and Wilson would have to get by on his own.
holdthemayo at 5:31PM on 09/21/08